Television receivers



Dec. 15, 1959 i E. l. HARMAN ETAL 2,917,577

TELEVISION RECEIVERS Filed May 11, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENT OR! Q 5m 1? HAW/11 4 BY 71915 000142 PICK/(K O WY" ITTOR/Vi) E E-ecu 35, 31%;? E. i. HARMAN ETAE- TELEVISIONRECEIVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May ll, 1959 ATTORNEY TELEVISION RECEIVERS Application May 11, 1959, Serial No. 812,405

Claims. c1. 178-7.5)

Portable radio receivers have long been popular and it has therefore been desired for a number of years that TV receivers be made equally portable. variety of more or less movable TV receivers have been built or proposed. However, TV receivers providing a full-sized picture tube complete with chassis components, in a single cabinet, invariably were not only heavy but also bulky to such extent as to make'it hard and sometimes hazardous to carry them about.

It has therefore been a primary object of the invention to make TV receivers more truly portable. Other objects are to provide such receivers with complete picture tube and circuit systems, with convenient tuning and control devices, and with a suitable carrying handle. Still other objects may be noted from the description which follows.

The invention has achieved these objects by providing a novel cabinet-chassis combination, characterized by peculiarly advantageous structure and contour. The new chassis fills a mounting space which can be said to resemble the shape of a concave-convex lens with central aperture. The nature and advantage of this arrangement will be described as applied in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure l is a perspective front view of a receiver embodying this invention. Figure 2. is a side elevation of said receiver.

Figures 3 and 4 are, respectively, rear and side elevations of the receiver chassis, with certain parts shown in exploded position. I

Figure 5 is a view generally similar to Figure 1 but showing chassis structure with most other components removed. Figure 6 is a top plan view of the new receiver in position for carrying it about.

Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2: a picture tube comprising screen 10 is installed in .a cabinet shell 11 which has the approximate shape of a small suitcase or briefcase. A carrying handle 12 is secured to a top panel 13 of this'cabinet or case, as best shown in Figure 6. The front and back panels 14, 15 of the cabinet or shell have such slight convexity, in forward and rearward directions, respectively, and are so joined together with side panels 16, 17 as to minimize the danger of their coming into forcible contact with the body of a person carrying the cabinet or with door posts, furniture, or the like. Reasonable and effective protection is thus provided for the cabinet itself and the electrical apparatus therein.

Top and side panels 13, 16, 17, together with a bottom 13A (Figure 2), define a generally rectangular, peripheral cabinet wall structure, member or shell,'having generally planar, rectangular front and rear openings. These openings are substantially closed, respectively, by front panel 114, with tube face or screen 10 therein, and'by back panel 15. v

Preferably, handle 12 comprises ahousing 18 with retractable antennas 19, 20 therein. These antennas can be extended (Figure 2) and folded (Figure 1) and their housing can be angularly adjusted on the cabinet, for most eflicient reception of television signals, as'has been ited States Patent Actually, a' I described and claimed in Patent No. 2,872,677 of Richard J. Whipple and Henry E. Bowes, assigned to the assignee of this invention. It is, however, possible to utilize antennas of different construction and it may also be preferred in certain cases to carry the cabinet by devices other than handle 12.

According to the invention, portability of the set is enhanced by rounding not only edges but all or at least major portions of the entire area of front 14 and back 15, in smoothly curved configurations of slight outward convexity. Desirably back 15 has a surface the rearward convexity of which constitutes a spherical rectangle with sides covering for instance about thirty to forty degrees of a circle. At least major portions of the area of such spherical rectangle are smoothly curved. A centralpprtion thereof has, however, .a rearwardly projecting cup 21 incorporated therein, desirably with smoothly profiled edges, to accommodate the rearward projection of tube neck 22, which projection can be relatively small. Thus the entire unit can be carried conveniently as well as safely, with handle 12 held in one hand, regardless Whether front 14 or back 15 is turned toward the person carrying it (also see Figure 6).

An obtuse-angled picture tube, providing for instance degree beam deflection, is desirably used in the new receiver. As best shown in Figure 4, such a tube has, between neck 22 and screen 10, a bulb 23 of smoothly curved, rearwardly convex design; and, as further shown in Figures 2 and'6, the contour of said bulb approximately resembles the curvature of back 15 and is approximately co-extensive therewith. The back is rearwardly spaced from the bulb by the approximate length of neck 22,'so that between the curved bulb 23 and the curved back 15, a chassis mounting space 24 of limited depth is provided, around neck 22 of the tube, said contour of the bulb and said curvature of the back being used as boundaries of the mounting space. The mounting space accordingly has a configuration somewhat simi lar to that of a concave-convex lens, with a central aperture for tube neck 22. The concave side of mounting space 24 substantially fits the surface of bulb 23; the convex side thereof is defined by the inside of back panel 15; and lateral boundaries are formed by the side, top and bottom panels of the cabinet, which have rearward extension from the periphery of tube 10, 22, 23 about as deep as neck 22 is long.

Figures 2 to 6 indicate the way in which the chassis mounting space has been utilized in accordance with the invention. Referring particularly to Figure 4: a normally assembled and substantially rigid structural system 25 is here shown in exploded form, which includes tube holder means 26 in a front part of the unit and a chassis structure 27 extending from said front part to the back. A back portion of chassis structure 27 includes upper and lower tray members 28, 29 which lie in approximately horizontal planes. As shown in Figure 5, front and back edges 30, 31 of upper tray 28 are substantially arcuate, that is, of curved or polygonal configurations, similar to the adjacent horizontal profiles of the bulb and back. Upper and lower tray members 28, 29 are interconnected by approximately vertical, elongate corner structures or posts 32, 33 forming part of chassis 27 and cooperating to define a front part of the apparatus. Accordingly, as further shown in Figure 5, chassis 27 constitutes a four-sided frame of peculiar form, the posts 32, 33 being arranged to intersect the planes of trays 28, 29 in a vertical, frontal plane. The top and bottom trays 28, 29, interconnecting the posts, are disposed substantially behind said vertical, frontal plane. Substantial rigidity of the chassis is provided in a way well known by itself, for instance with the aid of suitable angle structures and flanges, as indicated at and 35; and.flange 35, at the front of lower tray 29, is also configured and arranged so as to contact an extended, lower, peripheral part of tube 10, 22, 23 and thus to support said tube.

Upon the surface of lower tray 29, in an area coincident with part thereof and extending approximately parallel to front edge 30 of the upper tray, a wall structure 36 is desirably provided, as best shown in Figures 2 and 4, said wall structure being supported from bottom member 29 by a bracket 37.

The upper tray 28 and, as shown, the wall 36 are slightly inclined, in such a way that tray 28 extends at least approximately in the direction of a radius of the concavo-convex shape of mounting space 24 and wall 36, approximately normal to such a radius. The resulting C-shape of chassis 27, with an upwardly inclined 'upper arm 28 and a horizontal lower arm 29, facilitates the installation of a complete set of circuit subassemblies in mounting space 24. Such installation can thus be achieved even if back 15 is but slightly spaced from bulb 23. It is also possible, and generally preferred, to use standard circuit subassemblies or panels in such installation, although many types of such panels, with components thereon, have bulky, box-like configurations or outlines, which could not readily be fitted into the desired, limited, curved mounting space except by means of a chassis structure as described.

Some of the major components or subassemblies of the receiver are mounted on the new chassis 27 in the following ways, best shown in Figures 3 and 4. The upper and inclined tray 28 has obliquely depending therefrom, adjacent to corner post 32, a downwardly elongate, box-shaped tuner and station selector unit 38. Bottom tray 29 has a low, horizontally elongate high voltage cage 39 mounted on one side thereof, in a direction conforming with the surface of bulb 23. The top of said cage supports, in suitably inclined position, a deflection control panel 40 obliquely upstanding therefrom. Mounted on bracket 37 is a video unit or strip 41 with the relatively small tubes 42 thereof extending in approximately horizontal directions (Figure 3; this strip being removed in Figure 4). Wall structure 36 has IF frequency unit or strip 43 obliquely mounted on the back thereof. The peculiarly shaped mounting space 24, Figures 2 and 6, is largely filled by these devices for the operation of picture tube 10, 22, 23.

It seems unnecessary for present purposes to describe added and more specific features of the above-mentioned major components 38 to 42, such as the electrical and mechanical arrangement of their various electron tubes 44, 45, etc., or to discuss details of smaller or auxiliary chassis-mounted components, such as vertical and horizontal hold means 46, 47, brightness-contrast control 48, transformers 49, automatic selector mechanism 50, or the various interconnecting wires (not shown). Still further components, such as speaker 51 (Figure 4), may be mounted on a cabinet panel 17, not directly on chassis 27, as acoustical and/or mechanical problems might otherwise be encountered. Deflection coils 52 of course are mounted on the neck of tube 10, 22, 23 and the tube is attached to chassis 27 by holders 26. It will also be understood without extended discussion that suitable ventilation would be provided in back panel 15 and/or in other panel structures, and that other well-known requirements are suitably provided for.

More important for the invention is the use of a cabinet 11 having not only a forwardly slightly convex front 14, but, at a slight rearward distance therefrom, a rearwardly slightly convex back 15, these major elements being mounted on chassis structure 25 and carried by means ,of carrying handle 12 (Figures 1, 2 and 6). By means of such construction and configuration of front and back and associated parts, portability of the set is greatly enhanced; and in turn, such configuration has become available by means of the new cabinet chassis structure. The new combination has also been found to ha e adequate strength and ruggedness, particularly since the cabinet frame structure serves admirably to hold all or at least part of the peripheral portions of bulb 23, by elements 26 (Figure 4) and 35 (Figure 5).

In some instances the slender design of the new structure is useful not only in the interest of portability but also for the purpose of providing a furniture unit which is easy to place on a table or shelf and which is susceptible of pleasing and elegant design treatment.

According to another important feature of the invention, cabinet 11 as well as chassis 27 reflects the peculiar shape of mounting space 24 which has been described and which includes the use of specially contoured and inclined mounting structure at least by means of upper tray 28 (Figures 4 and 5). The inclination of such mounting structure has facilitated the use of slightly inclined shafts 53 (Figures 2 and 4) and knobs 54, 55 (Figures 1, 4 and 6), particularly for tuner unit 38 and for a tone control means 56 (Figure 4). It has been found that the slight, forward inclination of said knobs 54, 55, on top of panel 13 (Figures 1, 2 and 4) is an added'feature of convenience. It allows the use of relatively fiat control knobs and dial structures, which project but slightly from the cabinet and thus minimize difiiculties incident to the transportation of the set, while making it easy for the user to read markings 57 on exposed top surfaces of the flat knob or dial structures (Figure 5). Manual as well as automatic station selection and tuning can thus be readily observed or checked by a user, who need not for this purpose appreciably change the position which he normally and conveniently uses for viewing picture screen 10.

It is accordingly preferred to provide a top panel 13 of cabinet 11 with inclined timing and control knobs 54, 55, lying on similarly inclined panel areas and disposed on the two sides of antenna handle 12 (Figures 1, 2 and 6). It is however possible to utilize vertical installation for other adjustment knobs or elements, such as knurled wheels 58, 59, 60 (Figures 4 and 6) for the vertical and horizontal hold and brightness-contrast controls.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it should be understood that the details thereof are not to be construed as limitative of the invention, except insofar as is consistent with the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A television receiver, comprising: a peripheral cabinet shell having oppositely facing front and rear openings and having therebetween a maximum depth which is short in comparison with the height and the width of said shell; a chassis which includes a top member, a bottom member, and two side members therebetween, such members being disposed generally within said cabinet shell; a picture tube having a face, a bulb and a neck, said face overlying said front opening, the rear wall of said bulb being convex in a direction away from said face, said neck extending from said rear wall through said rear opening, and said bulb rear wall being substantially framed by said chassis members; a rearwardly convex cabinet back panel substantially closing said rear opening and cooperating with said shell to enclose the neck of said picture tube; and a plurality of groups of electric components, supported from a plurality of said chassis members, within the space between said bulb rear wall and said cabinet back panel, a plurality of such components and supporting chassis members extending in difierent directions oblique to said depth and oblique to each other to conform to the shape of said convex rear wall of the bulb and of said cabinet back panel.

2. In a television receiver: a chassis comprising an open framework of at least two approximately horizontal members and at least two approximately vertical members; a cabinet wall structure having wall portions closely surrounding at least a front portion of the chassis and defining oppositely facing front and rear openings; a

picture tube having a forward portion disposed substantially within said framework and substantially occupying said front opening, and having a bulb rear wall which is convex in a direction away from the face of the tube and disposed substantially within said chassis; a back wall substantially closing said rear opening and defining, with said bulb rear wall, a mounting space having a depth, between the bulb rear wall and the back wall, which depth is small compared to the height and width of the space; and a plurality of groups of electrical parts and circuit subassemblies, mounted in said space on different ones of said chassis members in positions substantially conforming to the outline of said bulb rear wall.

3. A television receiver, comprising: a cabinet shell substantially consisting of top, side and bottom walls, said walls defining a generally rectangular front opening and a similar rear opening; a picture tube having a face and a neck and a rear bulb wall therebetween, the front peripheral portion of said picture tube substantially occupying said front opening, the neck of the tube extending through said rear opening, and the rear bulb wall of the tube being rearwardly convex; an outwardly convex back wall attached to said shell, at the back of the latter, and substantially closing said rear opening, said back wall presenting a concave surface toward said rear bulb wall, whereby said rear bulb wall and said back wall define therebetween a concave-convex region, surrounding said picture tube neck and peripherally bounded by said shell, the construction and arrangement of said cabinet shell, rear bulb wall and back wall being such that the depth of said region is smaller than the height and width of the region; and a circuit-carrying chassis and component structure disposed within said region, in position substantially surrounding the rear wall and neck of said tube, and oriented to conform generally to the concavo-convex shape of said region.

4. A television receiver of a depth less than both its height and its width, comprising: a peripheral shell presenting oppositely facing generally planar front and rear openings: a picture tube having a bulb and a neck, the forward portion of said bulb substantially occupying said front opening and said neck extending through said rear opening, the rear wall of said bulb being rearwardly convex and being substantially surrounded by said shell; a rearwardly convex and internally concave cabinet back wall substantially closing said rear opening, said rear wall of the bulb and said cabinet back wall cooperating to define a mounting space of concave-convex shape, surrounding said neck and peripherally enclosed by said shell, the concave side of said space being defined by the rear wall of the bulb and the convex side being defined by the inside of said cabinet back wall; and a chassis disposed within said space and including major components oriented in directions substantially conforming to said concave-convex shape, said chassis and components being disposed around and adjacent to the rear wall of said bulb.

5. In a television receiver: a picture tube having a rear bulb wall and a neck rearwardly extending therefrom; a cabinet back wall spaced from said rear bulb wall, having curvature conforming generally to the shape of said rear bulb wall, and overlying the same, said rear bulb wall and said cabinet back wall cooperating to define therebetween a mounting space of concavo-convex shape surrounding said neck and of a depth which is small compared to the height and width of said space, the concave side of said space being defined by the said rear bulb wall and the convex side by the inside of said cabinet back wall; and a chassis and component structure for said tube, comprising a plurality of components disposed to substantially conform to said concave-convex shape and to occupy at least major portions of the distance between said cabinet back wall and said rear bulb wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain May 13, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES 

